At six, he witnessed his father's murder. At 12, he regularly sneaked out to the waterfront at midnight. At 15, he quit school. At 30, he retired, a self-made man. Then the real work of his life began. In 1904, A. P. Giannini (1870-1949) founded Bank of Italy, the predecessor of today's Bank of America, to serve his ethnic neighborhood in San Francisco. Against a backdrop of earthquake and fire, anti-immigrant fervor, war, and the Great Depression, he broke every rule and tradition on his way to a showdown with Wall Street. This riveting story of an outsider with something to prove is an American classic.

A. P. Giannini

The Man with the Midas TouchBy Dana Haight Cattani Angela B. Haight

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Dana Haight Cattani and Angela B. Haight
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-5492-9

Contents

Preface....................................................xi1. Sneaking Out............................................12. Turning Oranges to Gold.................................53. Sticking to Business....................................74. Courting Clorinda.......................................135. Beating Boss Buckley....................................176. A New Career............................................217. Bank of Italy...........................................258. The Inferno.............................................299. The Escape..............................................3910. The Bank on the Wharf..................................4511. Business as Usual......................................5112. Staying Calm in a Panic................................5513. Expanding the Bank.....................................5914. Invading Los Angeles...................................6515. From Suffrage to Savings Accounts......................6916. Outgrowing North Beach.................................7317. Joining the Wall Street Club...........................7718. Hard Times.............................................8319. Building the Golden Gate Bridge........................9120. Lending a Hand to the Seven Dwarfs.....................9521. Banking on the Home Front..............................9922. The Peace Dividend.....................................10723. Retiring Once More.....................................111Authors' Note..............................................116Glossary of Financial Terms................................118What's the Big Deal about Interest?........................122Which is More: Dollars or Quarters?........................124Timeline...................................................126Bibliography...............................................128Websites...................................................130Answers....................................................131

Chapter One

Sneaking Out

1882 Jackson Street San Francisco

A. P. Giannini tiptoed to the back door. He carried his shoes so he would not wake his mother. She would be furious if she caught her 12-year-old son sneaking out again, but A. P. could not resist following his stepfather, Pop, to work. About midnight, the paddle-wheel steamers began arriving at the Washington Street wharf, and A. P. wanted to be there.

He hurried through the darkened streets. When he reached the wharf, the docks buzzed with sound and activity. By the light of smoky oil lamps, workers unloaded crates of fruits and vegetables from the ships. Produce sellers hawked their goods in many languages. Pop carefully inspected the fruits and vegetables. He bargained for some of the best. Then he sold it to restaurants and grocery stores in the city.

A. P. wanted to help. Each ship carried a manifest, or list, of its cargo and passengers. When the steamers docked and the other traders were busy, A. P. copied each manifest in tidy penmanship for Pop. Once Pop knew exactly how much produce was available that night, he could decide how much to buy and how much to pay.

Night after night, A. P. watched attentively. He learned the names and faces of everyone on the wharf. Pop and his friends talked about freak storms and cold snaps, pests and drought. They complained about shortages, price gouging, and cheats. They celebrated bumper crops and bargains. They talked about the money they sometimes borrowed from the produce companies. A. P. breathed in all this information along with the chill night air.

When the sun rose, wagons carried off the produce, and the night's work was done. A. P. rushed home to eat. After breakfast, it was time for school. A. P.'s mother insisted that he learn to read and write in English. He did, and he was determined to be the best in his class. A. P. liked Washington Street Grammar School, but it was the Washington Street wharf that he loved.

Chapter Two

Turning Oranges to Gold

1884 411 Green Street San Francisco

Early one morning, A. P. woke to the muffled voices of his parents talking in the kitchen. He lay very still, trying to make out their words. He knew his mother was worried about him. She was busy with a toddler and new baby, but not too busy to worry about her three older sons. She thought A. P. was spending too much time at the wharf and neglecting his schoolwork. His afternoon naps and early nights were not enough sleep for a growing boy. How would he ever graduate from high school or college if he worked half the night and was too tired to study?

Pop had an idea. His business, L. Scatena & Company, had grown, and he and the family had moved into a new home. They were moving up in the world, and the house had a bay window with a view. Pop sold many kinds of local fruits and vegetables, including sugar beets, potatoes, corn, turnips, cantaloupes, pears, and plums. Oranges, however, were a luxury item. The best orange groves were hundreds of miles away in Southern California.

Pop told Virginia that he wanted to challenge A. P. to buy a boxcar of oranges from any farmer who was a new customer. It was difficult for experienced traders in San Francisco-much less a 14-year-old boy-to find and buy oranges. Pop said he would promise to buy A. P. a new gold watch if he could do it. Pop figured the task was nearly impossible and that A. P. would get discouraged with business and think more about school. A. P.'s mother thought the scheme might work.

When Pop presented the plan, A. P. pretended to be surprised. He accepted immediately. He loved a challenge, especially a difficult one.

A. P. spent his afternoons writing letters to farmers, promising fair prices and good service if they would sell to Pop's firm. Three weeks later, he handed Pop a contract for not just one, but two boxcar loads of oranges. Pop's plan had backfired, and A. P. had earned his gold watch.

A. P.'s mother was both proud of her ambitious son and distressed that he had succeeded. Would he ever finish school so he could make something of himself?

Chapter Three

Sticking to Business

1886 Sacramento River Valley Central California

A. P. reigned in his horse on a hillside overlooking a farm, one of the biggest in the valley. After lunch, the sixteen-year-old hoped to sign a contract with the farmer who owned this land. A. P. dismounted and tied his horse to a tree. Sitting down in the shade, he pulled some bread and mozzarella cheese from his knapsack. He had not eaten since leaving a boarding house in Sacramento before dawn.

A. P. had met with several farmers already that morning. He asked lots of questions. What crops would they grow this year? How many acres? How was the soil? Were the trees ready to bear fruit yet? A. P. listened carefully. Would the farmers be interested in a contract to sell the harvest to L. Scatena & Company? Some were, and they signed agreements.

As he finished his lunch, A. P. noticed a cloud of dust far down the road. A team of horses was traveling toward the farm. A. P....